


Scamander Zoo

by embraidery



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Australian AU, Demiguises, M/M, Pre-Relationship, zookeepers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27376138
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/embraidery/pseuds/embraidery
Summary: Charlie snags his dream job at Scamander Zoo, where he meets some lovely creatures and some lovely people.
Relationships: Rolf Scamander/Charlie Weasley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 4





	Scamander Zoo

**Author's Note:**

  * For [xslytherclawx](https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/gifts).



> modern Australian au, just for kicks (I'm Australian). The Scamander Zoo, a family zoo, is based on the Australia Zoo, run by Steve Irwin's family. muggo = muggle, no wokkas = no worries. uh I think that's about it?
> 
> note for xslytherclawx: this was from your purimgifts requests from last year, I think! I was really taken with the prompt, I just ran out of writing juice for it, but I'm very glad I saw that request. I hope you enjoy!!

Charlie nearly screamed when he opened the letter.

He'd been in a flurry of activity the past few weeks as he searched for a job. He'd started with the jobs he wanted, of course: zoos, sanctuaries, rehabilitation centres. Then he'd widened his scope to include veterinary clinics, shelters, and in a particularly low moment, a pet store.

A few nights before he'd been flicking through the jobs scroll of zoos, making sure he hadn't missed any. Just as he got to the bottom, a new entry began to appear on the page in fresh green ink. Charlie held his breath.

_Zookeeper Required!,_ it said, and the text paused as the writer stopped to consider their words. _We at Scamander Zoo_

Charlie jerked up as though he'd been jinxed. He'd dreamt of working at Scamander Zoo ever since he was a kid!

_We at Scamander Zoo have a vacancy for a passionate, dedicated, experienced Class III and IV beast keeper. Duties include feeding, cleaning up after, and entertaining Class III and IV beasts such as dragons, manticores, and hippogriffs. Applicants must have a NEWT in Care of Magical Creatures, police check, and working with children check._

_Please supply a current CV, cover letter, and response to the following Key Selection Criteria._

_1\. Ability to work under pressure and in dangerous scenarios with Class III and IV beasts._

_2\. Working knowledge of anatomy, diet, and psychology of Class III and IV beasts._

_3\. Ability to work on your feet, bend often, lift and carry heavy loads._

Charlie had barely finished reading the ad before he took a big swig of NoSleep potion and got to work. He'd finally fallen asleep at four in the morning and woke up collapsed on a massive pile of parchment. 

"Charlie, dear, I think you had better cut that down a little," Molly said at breakfast. "Honey for your weetbix?"

"Yeah, you're not trying to get a novel published, are you?" Bill laughed. "Okay, Mum, I've got to go." He put his slice of toast between his teeth as he adjusted his tie. 

"You'll be back at six to pick Ginny up?" Molly asked.

"Yeah, yeah, Mum. Good luck, Chaz!" Bill waved before ducking out the door.

Charlie ate his cereal with one hand and edited his CV with the other. "What do you think, Mum?" 

Molly picked up a random sheet and skimmed it, pointing her wand over her shoulder at the stove as the mushrooms began to smoke. "Looks good, Charlie." She replaced the paper on the stack and patted his cheek. "I'm so proud of you!"

"Oh, Mum, I haven't gotten the job yet!" Charlie moaned. "It's Scamander Zoo, I've got no chance in hell."

"Don't say that." Molly scooped mushrooms and bacon from the pan onto a plate. "Fry up?"

"No thanks, Mum, I've got to go." 

"Go? Go where?"

"I want to drop this off in person. Make a good impression, y'know."

"Oh, Charlie, they'll love you!" Molly grabbed him and squeezed him tight.

"Thanks, Mum!" he squeaked, breath cut off by her hug. Once released, he smoothed his smart button down and tie. "See you soon." With that, he left the house and Apparated to the gates of the zoo. 

It was always a shock to arrive at Scamander Zoo. It was far out in the red middle of Australia, where sheep and cattle stations were so isolated helicopters served as ambulances and kids talked to their schoolteachers over radio from hundreds of kilometres away. Charlie immediately cast a sunscreen spell and a cooling spell on himself. A sweaty shirt and sunburn was not the way to go!

That done, he walked up to the front gates, where a pale button-nosed witch in a cork hat sat reading a local wizarding magazine. 

"Hello!" she said, looking up from her magazine. She pushed her glasses up her nose. "Welcome to Scamander Zoo!"

"Thank you. I'm here about a job posting?"

"Oh, you'll want to speak to Miranda. D'you mean the Class IV job?" At Charlie's confirmation, the witch scribbled a brief message on a piece of parchment. Then she reached into the kangaroo pocket of her hoodie and pulled out a sleepy sugar glider. She gave the little creature the parchment. The glider tucked it into its pouch and waved its bushy tail.

"Just wait right there and I'm sure she'll be here in a minute." The witch held the glider out the window. Charlie watched it launch itself from her hand and glide from tree to tree. 

"Cheers." Charlie stepped out of the way of a young couple lining up to buy tickets and waited, hands in pockets, for Miranda to arrive. It wasn't too long a wait. An older Indigenous woman unlocked the side gate and approached Charlie, hand out for a handshake.

"G'day, how ya goin'?" She had a strong handshake, hands roughened and calloused from work, like Charlie’s. She looked just how Charlie expected: khaki uniform, big hat, permanently squinted eyes from working in the sun. Her white teeth sparkled against her deep brown skin. 

"Good thanks, you?"

"Good! It's been a great day out here today. Just had a thestral foal, it's not every day you see that. Want to meet him?"

Charlie nodded eagerly.

"Wait, I should've asked -- can you see thestrals?" Miranda asked over her shoulder, already power-walking away.

"Yeah," Charlie confirmed. 

"Well, you're one lucky young man -- not many will ever see a baby thestral!" She realised what she'd said. "Ah, not lucky exactly -- "

"No worries," Charlie said easily. "You can see them too, then?"

"Awh yeah, ever since I was a kid. Part of what made me wanna work with animals. They're just breathtaking creatures." Miranda came to a halt in front of a large glass-walled enclosure. "You have qualifications?"

"NEWT in Mag Creatures, and I did an internship at a rehab centre," Charlie said. Miranda's breezy manner had put him at ease enough to make him forget he was at a job interview, which was no easy feat. He cleared his throat and prepared to use his interview voice. "I worked mostly with smaller animals, such as redcaps and pixies, though I had the opportunity to look after a thestral and a kelpie--"

"Just wanted to know if you'd be safe to come in." Miranda smiled at him as she unlocked the back door to the thestral enclosure. "Plenty of time for a proper interview later."

Before Charlie figured out how to respond, or even if he should, he spotted the baby thestral. He was still slick with afterbirth, though the mama was making quick work of the cleanup. He balanced on impossibly tiny little legs. As Charlie gasped in wonder, the little thestral's legs wobbled and sent him toppling to the ground. 

"Beautiful, isn'ee?" 

Charlie nodded. He walked slowly towards the pair, no eyes for anything else. The mama pricked up her ears and watched carefully, but Miranda's presence reassured her, and she allowed Charlie to approach. The baby turned his head towards Charlie. His ears flicked up in alarm. He shakily stood up and took a few wobbling steps towards his mama, who hooked her long nose over his body in a comforting motion. Charlie stopped several metres away and slowly crouched to the ground. The baby watched suspiciously. 

"Here, take this." Miranda came up behind Charlie's shoulder and offered him a chunk of raw meat. He took it and held it out towards the pair of thestrals. The mama nudged the baby, who took halting steps towards Charlie, ears pressed back to his head. Charlie waited, silent, until the baby leaned forward and caught the furthest edge of the meat between his teeth. He ripped the meat from Charlie's hand and backed away, too quickly for his little legs, taking another spill. He wailed in distress. His mama hauled herself to her feet, nudged him up, and bit the meat into smaller chunks for her baby.

"They're beautiful," Charlie breathed, feeling his eyes well up. "I can't believe I'm seeing this." 

"It's pretty special, isn' it!" Miranda tossed chunks of meat to the other thestrals, who'd come ambling over from the other end of the pasture to say hello. "I just love these guys. What a great personality." 

When they'd had enough of watching mama and baby (whose names, according to Miranda, were Morticia and Pugsley), Miranda took Charlie to her office. On the way, they passed several of the creatures Charlie would look after if he got the job. This zoo, as always, had gorgeous animals. 

"Tea? Coffee? Soft drink?" Miranda asked. She popped open the fridge and got herself a can of kombucha.

"I'm alright, thanks."

"Oh, come on, don't be polite," Miranda laughed, crow's feet wrinkling even deeper.

"Do you have Lift?"

"Solo good enough?"

"Yeah, cheers." Charlie accepted the can of soda, condensation instantly forming on it as it hit the warm air of the room. 

"So." Miranda leaned forward in her chair, elbows on her knees, drink held loosely in both hands. "I can see you love the animals, any idiot could. What'd you get in your NEWT?" 

"I got an O in my NEWT and my OWL for Care of Magical Creatures."

"Have you worked with Class III and IV before?" Miranda asked, watching him keenly. "You said something about a kelpie?"

"Yes, I worked with a kelpie. Baby manticore, one time. Adolescent hippogriff."

Miranda whistled. "Adolescents are no joke. How'd you go?"

"Well, I got scratched." Charlie pointed at a long scar down his left forearm. "But everyone else got scratched constantly, and I was bowing and not blinking when it happened. I think he was just in a bad mood because he hadn't been fed yet." 

Miranda cocked her head. "Why not?" 

"I wasn't on shift then, but we'd been sent bad meat that morning, and they didn't know what to do, because hippogriffs only like fresh meat. Normally he got lamb, but I gave him the fish meant for the kelpie and gave the kelpie crickets and seaweed instead." 

"And the hippogriff didn't mind the change?" Miranda raised her eyebrows and took a sip of her drink.

Charlie shrugged. "He wasn't happy, but I told him that he was a prince amongst creatures and so he had the elegance and patience to bear it and could wait until the next day for his lamb."

Miranda laughed. "That's what I call creative thinking! Stroke their giant ego." 

"Exactly." Charlie grinned. "I was sad to see him go. Temperamental, for sure, but really interesting."

"Did you do the vetting yourself?"

"I did the basic stuff.”

Miranda nodded to herself and took another sip of kombucha. "Did you bring your CV and all that?"

"Oh! Yes." Charlie pulled a manila folder from the briefcase he'd borrowed from his dad. He held it out to Miranda, who took it and flicked through the papers.

"Well, look, I like your spunk. I've still got a buncha interviews, though, so I'll let you know." Miranda pushed herself up out of her chair. "Lovely to meetcha, Charlie." 

"You too! Thanks for meeting me, Miranda." Charlie shook her hand again.

"No worries at all. You have a good one." 

Charlie walked slowly through the zoo on his way out. It was a beautiful morning, even though it was already over 40 C, and he didn't want to leave just yet.

He stopped by the thestral cage again. By now Pugsley was moving as though he hadn't been born only a couple hours ago, racing around the enclosure in giant circles. The adults peacefully munched on meat from their feeder, tails flicking away any flies that came too close.

"They're gorgeous, aren't they?"

Charlie startled. He looked over at the speaker, a tanned, freckled guy about his own age in a zookeeper uniform. "Yeah, yeah, they are. Do you work with them?"

"Nah, I work with the nearly-harmless ones. Nifflers, unicorns, and that." 

"Do you have a favourite?" 

The stranger cocked his head, blond hair falling over his forehead. A smile spread across his face. "I don't think I'm supposed to play favourites. But yeah, I totally do. Wanna see her?" 

"Of course." Charlie stood up straight and waved to the baby thestral. "Bye Pugsley!"

"How did you know his name?" the zookeeper asked.

"Miranda told me. I'm interviewing for a job here."

"Oh, sweet as!" The zookeeper turned to walk backwards. "In that case, we should get to know each other. I'm Rolf, he/him."

"Charlie. I use he/him too."

"Cool." Rolf smiled and turned around to walk forwards. As he did, Charlie noticed that his right leg was a prosthetic from the knee down. It was a gorgeous wooden thing covered in carvings of creatures: Charlie spotted a unicorn, a dragon, and a kneazle, amongst others.

"I really like your leg!" Charlie said.

"Oh, cheers! Just got it for my birthday." Rolf stopped and lifted his leg for Charlie to take a closer look. 

"It's beautiful."

"Yeah, I think so." Rolf started walking again. "So you're applying here. Have you worked at a zoo before?"

"Rehab centre."

"Oh cool as, that's important work. Did they do muggo critters too?"

"Yeah, we got a lot of roos in, but we usually only accepted them from wizards. It was easier to explain."

"Fair ‘nuff." 

"You obviously have muggo animals here too."

"Yeah, I mean, why not? It's not everyone gets to see a quokka or a platypus in the wild." Rolf came to a stop in front of a glass enclosure encompassing a miniature jungle. There was a wooden play structure set up in one corner occupied by several demiguises. They went invisible at Charlie's approach. 

"Hey, Tilly!" Rolf said, going to the side entrance. "You can trust him, I reckon he's okay." He disappeared into a door hidden behind a tree and came back with a banana. 

Charlie could see a shaggy, half-visible hand reach out to take the banana. The demiguise fully materialised before deftly peeling the banana and chomping down. 

"This is Charlie, Tilly," Rolf said, pointing at Charlie, who waved.

Tilly raised one hand and waved back. Then she loped over to the glass to inspect this visitor. Where most of her companions were white or silver, she had lilac fur going white around her face and hands. She examined Charlie with huge dark eyes.

"Hi, Tilly," Charlie murmured. "Is that short for Matilda?"

Rolf laughed. "Oh yes." He began to sing in a lilting baritone: _"Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, you'll come a-waltzing Matilda with me..."_

Tilly began to smile. She hurried back to Rolf and took his hands, leading him in a lopsided waltz, hooting gently the whole time. 

Charlie grinned and joined in for the first verse as Rolf and Tilly continued to dance. As he watched, Charlie realised that that patch of ground was well worn down, the vegetation there flattened, as though from regular use.

_"His ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong..."_ Rolf sang, slowing until he and Tilly stood still, hand in hand, waiting for the grand conclusion. _"You'll come a-waltzing Matilda with meeee!"_ Rolf swung Tilly into a deep ballroom dip. Charlie burst into applause. Tilly hooted and waved her long arms in the air.

"Did you teach her how to waltz?"

"I did, yeah, but only after she grabbed me and danced me in a circle!" Rolf laughed. "Good one, Tilly, that was spectacular." With that, he waved goodbye to the rest of the demiguises watching carefully from their treehouse and left the enclosure. 

Charlie's heart had swollen to about five times its normal size, which made talking difficult. Rolf glanced at him and seemed to understand.

"She's really special, isn't she?" he said in an undertone.

Charlie just nodded.

"Well, I should probably get back to work, but great meeting ya, Charlie. Good luck with the job." Rolf stuck out his hand.

Charlie accepted the shake, feeling Rolf's calluses beneath his own. "Cheers, and thanks for introducing me to Tilly," he said, voice still a little thick. 

"Anytime." Rolf smiled and dropped his hand to his side before turning to go.

Charlie wanted to call him back to say something more or to...Charlie didn't know what. Get his address, maybe, to send him a letter. Ask for Tilly updates. He could always just send a letter to "Rolf, c/o Scamander Zoo," he supposed. 

Charlie's traitorous mouth didn't open, so he just stood there for a moment, taking it all in, before leaving the zoo and Apparating home.

So, a week later, Charlie arrived home from a book-finding mission; he wanted to read more about demiguises. He found a letter in a Scamander Zoo envelope in the Weasley mailbox and held his breath as he opened it.

_Dear Charlie,_ it began, _Lovely to meet you last week. We would love to have you join the team_

And Charlie couldn't read any further. He wasn't actually physically screaming, but he kind of wanted to. Instead he ran in little circles around the Burrow and flapped his hands in excitement. They wanted him?! He was going to get to work at his dream job with Miranda, the coolest boss ever?! 

Charlie wrote back immediately. He wanted to wait a little while to make it seem like he was calm and collected, but he only made it about three hours before sending Errol to the zoo with his response. 

He went in for his first day of training a few days later. It was a busy day full of paperwork and introductions to all the animals he’d be looking after.

At the end of the day he went through the sheaf of parchment Miranda gave him. Code of conduct, map of the zoo, work roster. He ran his finger down the list. He would be training three days that week. His finger stopped at the name _Rolf Manda_. It was so _Australian_ that Charlie laughed. 

"Manda, Rolf Manda," he said, rolling the name around his mouth.

"You called?" Rolf appeared behind him, setting his broom against the wall of the cleaning shed. 

Charlie turned beet red and spluttered awkwardly.

Rolf laughed. "You're all good, mate. You like my name?"

"Just feels good to say," Charlie mumbled.

“It's not bad." Rolf reached up and palmed the back of his neck. “Don’t s’pose you’d wanna come have some beers with the guys after work? We finish up in another two hours.”

“Sounds great!”

“Great! We’ll just be at the zoo bar.” Rolf pointed over his shoulder at the food court in the centre of the zoo.

“After-work beers at your work?” Charlie asked.

“You see many other pubs around here, mate?” Rolf asked, cracking a grin. 

Charlie had to admit he didn’t.

Because he had time before the get-together, Charlie Apparated home and got cleaned up, putting on a fresh blue shirt that popped against his red hair. He’d never really used hair products before, but he borrowed a little bit of Percy’s pomade and played around with his hair until it looked suitably ruffled.

“Going out, are we?”Ginny asked, popping into the bathroom to grab her toothbrush from the massive Weasley toothbrush organiser.

“Just some beers with the crew from work.” Charlie ran his hands under the tap to get the last remnants of pomade off his skin. 

“Mm-hmm.” Ginny raised one eyebrow at him as she left the bathroom.

Charlie Apparated back to the zoo without answering.

The other zookeepers were a cheerful bunch, elbowing each other and laughing as they streamed into the pub. Charlie automatically looked for Rolf, finding him in the middle of the pack, blond hair pulled back into a messy short ponytail. They squished into a giant booth in the back room, Charlie next to Rolf.

“This is Charlie, everybody,” Rolf said at one point, and Charlie nearly drowned in a sea of hellos. Conversation was easy and cheerful.

At some point Rolf said something about bleaching.

“Oh, you’re not blond?” Charlie blurted.

Rolf laughed. ”Nah. I played Prince Charming in the primary school play and they wanted me to go blond. Charms weren't going to cut it, so I bleached my hair. Never went back." 

It looked really good. He had a freckly tanned redhead's complexion, like Charlie. The blond heightened the illusion that he was a sun-bleached surfer, or, in this case, a sun-bleached zookeeper. (In reality, of course, he applied his sunscreen charms just like everyone else. The Australian sun was no joke.)

“Do we want more drinks?” Rolf called, and the table cheered. “Let’s have a round on me!” He pulled his wallet from his pocket and handed his credit card to one of the zookeepers nearest the bar. Charlie hadn’t meant to look at his credit card; he was just admiring the beaten silver ring Rolf wore on one of his fingers, but as it was, he saw the name emblazoned across the bottom of the card:

MISTER ROLF SCAMANDER

Charlie nearly spat out his beer. _Scamander?_ Maybe he should have put two and two together, but look, the blond hair had thrown him off. Newt Scamander’s grandson, surely! Working at the family zoo, of course!

Rolf noticed Charlie choking on his beer and patted him on the back. “You good, mate?”

Charlie looked up at his new friend. He wanted to say something, but if Rolf went by a different last name, it had to be for a reason.

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Cheers for the drink!”

“No wokkas!” Rolf smiled and took a sip of his drink.

Well, that put a wrinkle in things, Charlie thought.Look, if he was honest with himself he’d already been thinking he’d like to ask Rolf out sometime, but now he wanted to make sure it wasn’t because of his famous ancestor.

It didn’t take long for all the zookeepers to get pleasantly buzzed. Charlie thought he should probably head home; he had an early morning of training the next day.

“Glad to meet you all!” Charlie said, reaching around and shaking all the hands that were offered him. “See you when I see you!” It took a while to extricate himself from the booth, with some of the others without enough coordination to get out of his way, but finally he made it out. He waved at everyone and headed out.

He was probably a little too tipsy to Apparate safely, but he didn’t want to sober himself up yet, so Charlie stood against the wall of the bar enjoying the cool night air. He closed his eyes and tilted his face to the moon.

“Hey!”

Charlie opened his eyes to see Rolf — Rolf _Scamander_ — standing next to him.

“I’m glad you came out with us tonight. Hope we’ll see you at some more of these!” Rolf continued.

“For sure.” Charlie smiled. “They’re a great bunch.”

“Alright, well, goodnight!” Rolf said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

“Night!” Charlie waved his wand over himself to sober up and Apparated home, thinking about the fact that Rolf had climbed out of that crowded booth just to say goodnight. Interesting… _very_ interesting.

Charlie was very much looking forward to this new job.


End file.
